Circles in my skirt, circles in my hair

Another week, another skirt that I finished ages ago and never posted. This time it's a circle skirt. I used a self-drafted pattern that I've made at least a dozen times already. What can I say? Circle skirts are so easy to sew, and I love the way they look.

It's made of waxed cotton. It's the same fabric I used for this dress. I have a bunch of it because it drapes really well (and it was cheap).  

My hair looks kind of weird in the photos above because it has victory rolls in it. This is only the third time I've managed to do them (semi) successfully after an embarrassing amount of time spent trying.  

I look evil but you can see the victory rolls

Shoes: Op shopped
Cardigan: Op shopped
Top: K-mart

Skirt: I made it

Sort of Spring

Sorry about my lack of posting. Uni is kicking my butt at the moment. I have two tests and an essay due this week. Anyway, it's sort of Spring here now. By 'sort of' I mean we get a couple of sunny days and then back to gloom again. This is typical of Christchurch. I'm not complaining mind you, I like gloomy weather. I quite like Spring too but I don't like what comes after. Summer means hayfever and constant sunscreen application for me.
In honour of the start of Spring I thought I would make a weather appropriate skirt. I actually finished this a couple of weeks ago but was too lazy busy to take pictures of it.

It's the same self-drafted circle skirt pattern I've sewn a million times, because you can never have too many circle skirts. The fabric is from my stash. I bought 4 metres of it at Spotlight a few years ago. I was going to make a full skirted 50s dress but then I thought the combination of full skirt, pink, roses and spots (there are little cream spots on the fabric) would be too girly even for me. I am not much of a fan of pink in general so it must have been a moment of temporary insanity when I bought 4 metres. I do like it as a skirt though. With a skirt I can tone down the pink with a black top and docs.



I lined it with some white cotton because it makes the colours stand out a bit more. I also added some petersham ribbon to the waistband because it looks pretty and it probably strengthens it or something. All the seams are french seams. Even though you can't see them because it's lined, I don't care. I just love how neat they look.



If you squint you may be able to make out the spots on the fabric. The camera washes out the colours a bit. They are brighter in person.

I have a ton of Spring sewing projects in my mind and hopefully after this week I'll be able to start working on them.

Tengo ganas a vivir. Ya comencé a pintar*

I wanted this Frida's Garden fabric to make into a skirt for ages but I couldn't justify spending that much per metre on material (about $30). I am, after all, a poor student. Luckily, I found it cheaper on Etsy (even with shipping and currency conversion).

I love Frida Kahlo's paintings and I think the fabric captures her style pretty well. I wanted to make the most of the print so I tried to place the pleats so as many of the Fridas could be seen as possible. The skirt is really basic and easy to make without a pattern. It's just two rectangles with pleats and a waistband. I also put inseam pockets in because I do love a skirt with pockets.

Thanks for your nice comments on my earthquake post. I'm glad to be back doing some sewing because it makes everything seem slightly more normal.

* I desire to live. I have already begun to paint.
It says this on the fabric, as well as, "Pies para qué las quiero, si tengo alas pa' volar" (Feet... what do I need them for if I have wings to fly with).

Pi

Sorry for not posting lately. This week was the last week of the term at uni so I had a 30 page research paper and an essay to finish (sometimes I wonder why I pay money to torture myself like this).

When I did maths at school I used to like geometry, especially anything involving circles. Now the only time I use maths regularly is when I'm working out what something will cost with 20% off and when I'm sewing. Making a pattern for a circle skirt combines my love of sewing with the fun (totally subjective) of geometry. It's probably one of the easiest patterns to make yourself. Basically, it's just a big circle with a smaller circle in the middle the size of your waist. Mine's actually made up of four pieces, rather than two half circles, because I wanted the stripes to be in a chevron pattern. Sadly, I spent ages cutting out the pieces and matching up all the seams and you don't actually notice the chevron pattern when I wear it.

The fabric is a thin cotton with purple stripes. I used about three metres to make this skirt but that was mostly because it wasn't very wide and I needed to match the stripes.

(Also, I always seem to look unhappy in my photos. I'm not. It's just I feel weird grinning like an idiot when I take self-timer photos and they always end up looking strange and forced).